Why Do Some Folks Wear a Mask During Flu Season?

Wearing a surgical mask is very common when people are sick and want to avoid spreading their germs to others. They are also commonly worn when people are healthy and are just afraid of getting sick.

Why Do Some Folks Wear a Mask During Flu Season?

Is that why you see some folks wearing masks during flu season?

If you were worried about your privacy, would you talk about it on Facebook?

Maybe, but some folks actually have to wear a mask during flu season.

Well, they have to because they decide they don’t want to get a flu vaccine, but still want to keep their job that could put others at risk if they got sick with the flu. So basically, it is unvaccinated health care personal and others who work around sick and vulnerable people who might have to wear a mask when they are at work.

Why don’t they just get vaccinated and protected against the flu?

That’s a good question…

Some other questions to consider as you think about flu vaccine mandates include:

Do unvaccinated health care workers pose a risk to others in the course of their jobs? Of course they do. Health care personal are at high risk to get the flu, since they are often around people who are sick with the flu, and are at higher risk to get the flu if they are unvaccinated.

Does wearing a mask protect anyone? – Yes, they actually do and recent studies have concluded that “surgical face masks worn by infected persons are potentially an effective means of limiting the spread of influenza.”

Does getting a flu shot prevent you from catching the flu? – Flu shots aren’t the most effective vaccine we have, but they are the best way to avoid catching the flu, being 10 to 60% effective since 2004.

Does getting a flu shot prevent you from spreading the flu to others? Yes, and several studies have shown lower rates of nosocomial cases among hospitalized patients as more health care personal get vaccinated!

Does getting a flu shot just cause you to have milder symptoms? The flu vaccine does has many benefits besides preventing the flu, but it is certainly not limited to just causing milder symptoms.

Does wearing a mask violate your HIPAA rights? No. Unless you announce it, no one knows why you are wearing a face mask. Maybe you have herpes or a cold or are just afraid of getting sick. And the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act only protects patients, not employees.

So why don’t all health care personal get a flu vaccine each year?

Most do.

And while some people seem to be against the idea of mandates for health care workers getting flu shots, most think it is a great idea.

“I support this requirement. I think it is a good idea. Ethically, it makes total sense. First, every doctor, nurse, and HCW knows that they are supposed to put patient interests ahead of their own interests. Whatever you think about flu shots, it is good for patients that their healthcare providers are vaccinated against the flu, particularly among patients who cannot themselves be vaccinated, such as some of the elderly, babies, people with immune diseases, and people who just received transplants or are getting cancer treatment. Vaccination does not help them. They are all immunosuppressed.”

Art Caplan on The Law: Get a Flu Shot or Wear a Mask, Healthcare Workers!

In fact, most think that there is both an ethical and a legal rationale for flu vaccine mandates for health care workers.

“Doctors and other healthcare providers have an ethical obligation to make decisions and take actions that protect patients from preventable harm. 5 Many patients are highly vulnerable to flu, so choosing not to be vaccinated is choosing to do harm—a choice that has no place in healthcare.”

Doctors choosing not to be vaccinated is choosing to do harm

It is hard to imagine that some doctors and nurses not only skip getting vaccinated, putting others at risk, but then don’t even want to wear a mask.

I work in the healthcare feild and there seems to be some misinformation stated above. People can infect others 24hr in advance of Flu symptoms showing regardless if they receive the flu shot or not. The mask is irrelevant. There are no statistics showing any difference. You may go to the National Vaccine Information Center and receive unbiased information, as well as check out other countries resources on this. I would advise anyone to do research beforehand. You may find the statistics on first trimester and Flu shot miscarriage rates interesting, and yet the CDC recommends all pts to receive the flu shot because the flu is more serious than a miscarriage to them. This should be a patients choice, not a government decision.